Thursday, February 26, 2015

Little is known about Mrs. Almira Fulford. A listing in the 1850 U.S. Census for Erie County, Pennsylvania shows the Henry Fullford family living in Springfield Township. Henry was age 53, and he stated that his birthplace was Connecticut. Almira Fulford was 37 in 1850, and her birthplace was Canada. Children residing in the Fulford/Fullford household were Ellen, age 8, born in Rhode Island; Caly L., age 6, born in Pennsylvania; and Henry W.S., age 2 born in Pennsylvania.

The Bloomingville Cemetery has been active since the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and is in use at the present time as well. A marker adjacent to the Bloomingville Cemetery provides historical information about this early settlement in Erie County.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

The community of Sandusky, Ohio has lost a key member of the community, Ruth Frost Parker. Click here to read Tom Jackson's article and video about Ruth Frost Parker, who gave so much to our community. It is a wonderful tribute to an outstanding individual!

(*Note: Though my mother's maiden name was Parker, she was not related to Ruth Frost Parker.)

Friday, February 20, 2015

Above is a screenshot from the website of PBS. Recently I watched the first portion of the two part series about Italian Americans. While I do not have any Italian ancestry, two of my aunts married men of Italian descent. Uncle Dom and Uncle John were both funny, generous, and loving, and though they are both gone now, our families were much richer for having these men in our big extended family! The first episode of The Italian Americans provides us with historical background on Italy, and how it came to be. The program talked in detail about how family ties are so strong in families of Italian descent. The mother figure in each family is especially esteemed. I hope you can watch the PBS documentary of The Italian Americans. The full episodes are viewable online. You will learn a lot of social and cultural history in the two segments, and will understand the reason that Italian families are so tight-knit!Below is a rather grainy of my Uncle Dominic with several of the grandchildren and nieces and nephews, about 1982 at a family picnic.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Yesterday, my sweet cousin Shelley passed away, after bravely battling cancer. Shelley is seen in the snapshot above, at the far left at a family picnic in the 1970s. Shelley and I and another cousin, Barb, were all born in the same year, so we added to Parker Family Tree greatly back in 1951! Much of Shelley's younger days were spent in California. When Uncle Tom and Aunt Ev packed up the kids and drove cross the country to Ohio, back in the 1950s, we had such fun! We went to Cedar Point, had picnics, laughed, talked, and had great times making memories. Since Shelley's condition worsened, several members of her immediate family spent time with her, and once again made many wonderful memories. You were so brave Shelley. We will truly miss you!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

The Cleveland Jewish News Archives is just one of the many research databases available at the Cuyahoga County Public Library's online resources. I went to the search box, and entered Sandusky, since that is my hometown. Retrieved were articles about funerals, weddings, engagements, business openings, retirements, and many, many more! One article that was interesting was in the "Cleveland Cavalcade" column from the Cleveland Jewish News dated July 9, 1971. It turns out that five young men from Cleveland went to Cedar Point over the July 4th weekend. They found no hotel rooms available in Sandusky. Not knowing what else to do, they contacted their friend Kenny Miller. Mr. and Mrs. Dick Miller of Sandusky allowed the five friends of their son to spend the night at their home, and their hospitality was long remembered!

Any Ohio resident can obtain a free library card from the Cuyahoga County Public Library. It is enlightening to put in the name of your hometown as a keyword, to see what genealogical resources await!

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Mrs. Elizabeth Davis passed away at a hospital in Lucas County, Ohio on August 8, 1914. According to her brief obituary which appeared in the August 11, 1914 issue of the Sandusky Register, she was the wife of Thomas W. Davis. Mr. Davis was a resident of the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Sandusky, now known as the Ohio Veterans Home.

The heart shaped tombstone which honors the memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Davis at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery, speaks even today of how much she was loved.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Dear friends of my maternal grandparents, Louis R. and Adeline (Gast) Moosbrugger are buried in Section G of Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Adeline Gast Moosbrugger passed away on March 2, 1970. Louis Moosbrugger, who lived to the age of 90, died in Cuyahoga County on June 1, 1988, but he was buried next to his wife in Sandusky, Ohio. My grandparents both died before I was born, but my great grandmother, Irene Larkins Risko, kept in touch with Louie and Adeline for many years.

I only wish I could have known Mr. and Mrs. Moosbrugger better, as I am sure they could have told me many stories about my grandparents, and their time together in Sandusky in the 1920s and 1930s!